In short, an idiom is an expression that cannot be immediately understood if translated literally. A few examples of idioms in English are: to have ‘a strong stomach‘, to be ‘as good as new‘ and to ‘jump the gun‘.

There are many such idioms in Spanish and many of these use the verb Tener

Idiomatic Expressions Using Tener

There are quite a few idioms that use tener followed by a noun whereas in English ‘to be’ would be used followed by an adjective.

tener … años – to be … years old

tener calor – to be hot

tener cuidado – to be careful

tener en cuenta – to keep in mind

tener éxito – to be successful

tener frío – to be cold

tener ganas de – to be eager to do, to feel like

tener gracia – to be funny

tener hambre – to be hungry

tener miedo – to be afraid

tener paciencia – to be patient

tener prisa – to be in a hurry

tener razón – to be right

tener sed – to be thirsty

tener sueño – to be sleepy

tener suerte – to be lucky

There are also those expressions that use tener que followed by an infinitive which translates as ‘to have to’ or ‘must’: